Williams really showed a lot of maturity in 2016, despite missing a team meeting
Right, Tackle Ja’Wuan James has had his fifth-year option exercised by the Miami Dolphins, but on the flip side, Damien Williams is still refusing to sign his tender.
With voluntary workouts underway, it seems like Williams is choosing to revert to the type of attitude that has had him floundering for most of his career.
Yes, Williams will have to sign his tender or sit the entire year. So he will sign sooner or later.
But Williams needs reps, needs to display leadership, and needs to be in the right mindset to raise his level from last year. And that’s what it’s going to take to get him the contract he thinks he deserves.
So far his career has had highlights riddled by immaturity and inconsistency. Williams is a talent– no doubt, but the prime reason he hasn’t made a bigger impact in the NFL is mostly due to himself. He played hard his first year and even generated some talk about being a surprise player of the year in 2015. But fumbles and inconsistency had him fall into Philbin’s doghouse.
Maybe he believed the hype and rested on his laurels? Could this be repeated? Maybe he thought his highlights last year earned him the right to a payday this year? It seems like he shines every other year… and it looks like this is brewing to be another down year.
Williams might find this isn’t a winning move for him
Williams will be a back-up Running Back, but he’s the best 3rd down blocking back on the squad who is strong and fast enough to break the big play, and he also offers a lot of versatility. Is he essential? No. But, he is a very nice quantity to have on this offense. Maybe he just wants an excuse to skip the workouts.
While Mike Tannenbaum is reinforcing that these are voluntary practices… it’s with a wink-wink to any NFL football fan and best pay per head reviews. And Damien, whether he realizes it or not, it projecting an image that has cost many players under the Gase regime. Certain players could miss these practices and not miss a beat–prime example is Suh. Damien’s history shows he’s likely not one of them. Gase and the rest of the NFL are watching. And this won’t likely end the way Williams thinks.
On a good note, James will be back in 2018.
Yes, James had several terrible plays that cost the Dolphins huge and nearly sent Tannehill to the hospital a couple of times. But he rebounded very nice and ended the season as Miami’s best Offensive Linemen. Exercising the 5th year option was a no-brainer. The near 9 million he will make in 2018 will be cheaper than a FA tackle of equal ability would cost. Also, Miami won’t be forced to draft a tackle high in next year’s draft.
James received a lot of grief last year… and deservedly so. But given his whole body of work, I’m very happy that they made this move. James has all the tools to be a dominant Right Tackle. I can see Adam Gase getting James at the top of his game and proving the Dolphins to be very smart to lock in the 2014 1st round pick for more years.
Too bad the same it appears unlikely to be said for Williams… seems like the door is opening up for Free Agent De’Veon Smith… a rookie who has a heck of a lot of support from both fans and critics. Time for me to keep a keen eye on this kid. Miami Dolphins News, Go Fins!!!
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